Category Archives: Uncategorized

I have some nerve telling my kids they can “do anything” and should “follow their dreams.” I have no business telling them to “dare greatly” and “don’t be afraid of failure” when I sit here, day after day, knowing I have a book inside me, and a screenplay that would 100% get made, if only I would write them.

I actually have three slam dunk movie script ideas.

But, those ideas are “in my head” and in my head they stay. It’s that whole “fear” thing, right? I know these are can’t-miss, slam-dunk ideas, but as long as I don’t finish them, write them down, and show them to anyone, well, I can cling to that illusion. I know full well that it’s possible when I finish that screenplay or finish that book, the next steps aren’t going to happen exactly as I dream they will.

What are the “next steps” in my fantasy? In the case of the screenplay (that I’ll co-write with my brother), we’ll approach the Sklar Brothers (who I’ve written the movie for), or I’ll work through my friend K.V. who knows Vance Degeneres, and I’ll have the perfect elevator pitch for the entire plot of the movie with the perfect title. They’ll admire my brashness, like I’m an older Quentin Terrantino, and the idea will be impossible to ignore. Somehow, we’ll sign papers and pitch it to studios and it will get made.

I don’t know how much money a screenwriter gets paid compared to everyone else who works on the movie, but I don’t even care all that much about that. I want my movie to get made.

My fantasy with the book? I’m writing it simply as a keepsake for my family, full of family stories, but the “fantasy” happens when someone outside of my family gets ahold of the book, loves all the stories and lessons, recognizes themselves (and all Americans in the stories) and overnight hundreds of thousands of copies of my book are ordered and I’m a “new voice” in literature. People will call me a “late bloomer” because I didn’t write my first book until I was 45 years old, but all of a sudden, I’ll become a writer and author and for the next 20 years, I’ll write a series of books based on my experiences – experiences that I’ll just “have a way” of making humorous, interesting, and inspiring.

I wish I would’ve done this 10 years ago. Nope. I wish I would’ve done this 15 years ago. Nope. 25 years ago when I was 20 years old.

Well. Why. Not. How?

My 11-year-old said to me when I talked about my movie idea, “come on, Dad. You should just do it.”

Yes, I had a pazcki for breakfast. Yes, I’m going to eat my favorite fast food for lunch. Yes, I’m going to have an Old Fashioned this evening, but it’s Fat Tuesday, for heaven’s sake. However, tomorrow, with the first day of Lent, it’s going to be a “first-day” of a new life where I take care of myself, my body, and my brain first in order to be a better father, husband, employee, friend, and human.

All religions talk extensively about the greatest gift we have from God is our body. Do most of us treat our body as a gift? Ahem. My recent adventure onto a scale at my Dr.’s office suggests, no, I treat my body like a rental storage unit (and my cholesterol results suggested I’m a hoarder and that storage unit has every old magazine I ever subscribed to). I look around any mall or grocery store, or theme park, or sporting event, and looking at most people’s bodies, well, I can see most of us don’t treat our bodies like temples and gifts. I’m not breaking any ground there.

I’m going to change that. Starting tomorrow and pray for me that it’s forever. 44 years are in the books on this body I have. Let’s see if I can get 44 more, and make them healthy and fit. And now, a letter I wrote to the people who love me. They say, if you write something down, you’re more likely to follow through. Let’s test that theory.

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body” -Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

I might write a children’s book with the sole purpose of turning it into a cartoon, and with an awesome theme song.

Remember, I change the bed sheets each and ever week and my daugthers have clothes everywhere, and since I refuse to determine which clothes are dirty, and which clothes are clean, I stack it all in a mountain.

I’m sure Charles Koppelman has a million great stories and could write a book about business advice, but I wonder if he even knows what’s so magical about himself? He’s pushing 80 and if you watch the interview below, you’d still hire him and work with him. Why?

He stayed relevant. Click on the image below (or here) to watch the entire interview. If you’ve ever worried about someday getting “too old” or “out of touch” to compete in an ever-changing landscape that favors the young …please watch this.

Nearly every Saturday and Sunday morning, I wake early (by 6:30 a.m. at the latest), take my dog for a half-hour walk, Aeropress myself a cuppa coffee, and then have “me time.” Typically, that includes burning through my backlogged personal Yahoo! and Gmail, watching YouTube vids I’ve filed into “Watch Later”, writing, listening to Podcasts, and randomly surfing the Internet.

The teens in my house sleep in. My wife sleeps in. I feel productive and healthy. And I try to suppress the feeling that this is actually some sorta mental issue that I’m not sleeping in on the weekend and look forward to two hours all by myself.

Am I the only one?

Like this morning, I was really able to start nailing down my Christmas wish list, started looking at old journals and short stories to begin assembling them into a book, and I read a few stories about my Spartans and about the Thanksgiving parades of the day (oh …my weekend hermit sessions are a paaaaarty).

Mornings are important to me. I’m thankful, on this Thanksgiving day, for peace, quiet, and tranquility on early weekend mornings.

Remember when I used to Blog about nothing, pretending as if thousands of people hung on my every word? If you’re one of the thousands of readers who used to read my Blog, oh, you so remember.

I’m moved to Blog today about two things:

I discovered Perry Ellis Travel Luxe Elite Pants

Fall Out Boy released a new single and it’s amazeballs (I’m going to personally bring that word into the world of 40-something men).

Pants are pictured top-right and a link to the Fall Out Boy video is below. You’re welcome. Oh, you probably wanna know why I like these pants. OK. Here goes. They cost $20. They look like dress pants. They wear like stretchy workout pants. They’re $20.